International market experiences strong growth - Global gas production grew again in 2010 according to the International Association for Natural Gas (Cedigaz). After a historic 2.8% fall in 2009, recent statistics demonstrate that in 2010 it grew by 4% and will grow by 2.5% this year. This is far above the 2% growth forecast in October 2010 by the International Energy Agency (IEA) for the whole of 2010. This improvement was helped by faster economic recovery and by colder weather than expected in OECD countries. Gas prices were more competitive than those for oil, which also helped improve the situation. This 4% increase will mean that gas production volumes will be higher than those of 2008 (+1%), which was, however, a record year. Stimulated by new Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) supply lines in Qatar and by the leap in industrial demand in Asia, gas production in the Middle East increased by around 10.5% in 2010. This increase has been evaluated at 7.7% in Asia-Oceania and 4.4% in former Soviet Union countries. This compensates for the fall in Europe (-3.6%), which is due to oil from the North Sea running out. In North America, production steadily increased (+1.3%). This apparent stability, however conceals a sharp rise in the use of non-conventional gas supplies in the US and a fall in volumes in Canada and Mexico. Shale gas production in the US grew by 76% in 2010 and reached a level of 88 billion cubic metres. This rise, however, is not expected to last because shale gas production prices are not in step with current gas prices, explained Cedigaz. The scale of this slowdown, however, is difficult to evaluate. In 2010, shale gas accounted for 14% of US gas production. Despite the low rate of US imports, LNG also experienced a record year in 2010 with an increase in traded gas volumes of 20%. Cedigaz is counting on a 6.3% increase by 2015. Its forecasts are more optimistic than those of the IEA and it considers that the “gas bubble” will disappear towards 2013-2014, if growth estimates by the IMF and OECD are considered. Supply and demand disparities are also expected to become acute. (I.L./transl.fl)